Eyes Wide Open ABANDONED
by BBQkitten
Summary: Mafia: Cold-blooded, ruthless killers? Or family? When Bella moves to New York she gets sucked into a life she was taught to fear. She gets in too deep and is left with an ultimatum: love or death? Will love concur all or is she a dead girl walking? B/EM
1. Prelog: The City That Never Sleeps

**Prelog**

In New York, police sirens are background noise. In New York, a dead body in an alleyway is old news. In New York, if you are anyone you are no one.

No one ever told me what New York was really like. Like everyone else, I thought this city was going to be perfect. That wasn't the case. Within twenty-four hours of stepping off of the plane I already had death looming over my head.

_I had just unpacked the last of my boxes and headed outside to explore the city a little. As I was turning the corner I passed by a side street where I heard raised voices. I paused in my steps and leaned up against the wall, carefully peering my head around the corner into the alleyway to get a better look at the men. One man had wavy blonde hair and shockingly blue eyes. He was lean but I could tell he was much stronger than he looked because he was holding a man twice his size against the wall._

_"I told you to have the money by Friday," he spoke._

_He brought something up against the big man's head making him whimper. "I know Jasper, but if you could just give me a little more ti—" _

_The man, Jasper, dug the object into the man's skull. "I'm through giving you more time Samuel."_

_A gun. He had a gun. _

_Being a small town girl I could never fathom someone actually holding a gun to someone's head in real life. I didn't know what to do so I stayed frozen against the wall watching this horror movie take place right before my eyes._

_"Please Jasper, I have kids_— _two of them. They need me."_

_Jasper laughed, actually laughed. "You really think I care about your kids? You should have thought about them before you deiced not to pay me back." Samuel whimpered as Jasper pressed the gun further into his head. "Say your prayers you filthy animal."_

_He pulled the trigger letting off a humongous bang. I let out a little scream unable to contain myself any longer._

_Only too late did I realize that I had made a big mistake. Jasper looked up from Samuel's lifeless eyes and right into mine. I stood frozen in the mouth of the alley watching Jasper's cold, murderous body stalk towards me._

_"Hey kid. How much of that did you see?"_

_His voice shook me out of my shock induced haze and I slowly began to walk backwards out of the ally and towards the hustle and bustle of New York. He looked down at my feet and raised his gun as his eyes met my face again. "Don't even think about leaving until we've had a little chat, 'kay?" I froze for a split second, assessing my options, before cautiously nodding my head. "Smart girl. Now why don't you come back here and we can talk like the mature adults we both are okay?"_

_My feet moved of their own accord and took hesitant steps toward Jasper._

_"Good girl," he said once I was close enough for him to grab my wrist and yank me further into the darkness. "How 'bout you tell me your name sweet-cheeks."_

_I took a deep breath and tried to come up with a name. "M-M-Marie."_

_"Marie, 'ay? Well _Marie,_ I don't think you saw anything tonight, do you?" He raised his gun and rested it lightly against the side of my head. "Because if you did, well, the end result wouldn't be pretty. Understand?" He dug the gun a little harder into my skull making me bite my lip._

_I carefully nodded my head and said, "I didn't see anything."_

_He laughed lightly. "Good girl, you learn fast. If I didn't already have a girl I would take you easy." he lowered his gun returning it under his shirt and patted me on the head. "And if I do get caught for what didn't happen here tonight I'll know who to blame."_

_I nodded my head again and he let go of my wrist patting me one more time on the head before promptly exiting the alley, returning to the city that never sleeps._

That had been two weeks ago and I hadn't seen him since—though I haven't really been looking either. Every time I saw a blonde head that looked similar to Jasper's I ducked my head and steered clear of him.

Today had been like any other day since arriving in New York; working in Hal's Diner and trying to forget Samuel's lifeless eyes. It was nearing nine o'clock and the dinner rush was finally dwindling down. I began to walk back to the kitchens to punch out when the door chimed and Stacy, another waitress, came up to me.

"Bella, I hate to ask you this but could you possibly take these customers? My nanny called and told me she had to go home and I don't have anyone else to watch Charlie." Her green eyes silently pleaded with mine and I felt myself start to give in. I sighed and nodded my head re-tying my apron. "Oh, thank you Bella! You are an angel."

I smiled and took her pad. "Go home to Charlie I've got these last few."

She grinned pulling off her apron and jogging to the kitchen yelling another rushed thank you before she disappeared. I let out a loud sigh and turned around grabbing menus as I headed toward the booth with the five new comers.

I laid the menus out on the table and said, "Welcome Hal's Diner. Can I start you off with any drinks?"

I looked up at the customers and froze.

"Yeah, I'll have a Coke." A chill went up my spine as his voice echoed through my body.

Jasper.

**AN: okay so this is my new story and I really hope you guys liked it. Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Walking Dead

**Chapter One**

My heart began to beat at an alarming rate and my hand began to shake as I tried to write down his order. "A-A-And for the rest of you?" I asked, keeping my eyes firmly placed on my pad.

One of the two girls, I didn't know which, said, "We'll all have Cokes."

I took a deep breath and nodded before walking away from them, heading behind the counter. I figured that it would be wise to actually look at Jasper and friends to know how many there really was.

Slowly, I brought my eyes up to meet their table and was shocked. They were beyond gorgeous; the first one was obviously Jasper, who, in this light was actually really handsome with his honey blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He was lean but from that night I knew he was packing some serious muscles. Next to him was a small, petite girl with large, happy green eyes and a smile that could light up a room. They would seem like a cute couple to anyone else but I knew what he did and it made me wonder, did she? Across from her was a gorgeous blonde model-looking woman who was leaning into a man with weird, wind-swept bronze colored hair. They both looked extremely unhappy and grim like they hated the world. The most beautiful though, was sitting next to the brooding couple. He was well built and buff with short cropped dark brown hair and stormy blue eyes. He was beautiful but also frightening; if Jasper was could hold a man twice his size against a wall I could only imagine what could this man do.

I quickly filled the tray with their Cokes and brought them over to the gang, setting one in front of each of them before asking, "Are you all ready to order?"

The blonde girl spoke first. "I'll have a salad," she said, handing me the menu a frown permanently marring her beautiful face.

The bronze haired man next to her closed his menu, giving it to me as he said, "I'll take a steak, rare."

The blonde girl snorted, "You and your bloody meat." He just smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

The burley God made a face and said, "I'll take a cheese burger with the works and a barf-bag for the vomit that is prone to come with these love sick puppies next to me." I smiled slightly and wrote down his order before taking his menu and turning to Jasper and his girlfriend.

He smiled at me and said, "I'll have a steak well done and Ally here will have a fruit salad without pineapple."

Ally giggled, "Aww babe, you always know exactly what I want." She then turned to me and said, "Add a plate of French fries with that, could you?"

I nodded and said, "Of course, anything else?" They shook their heads no so I walked back to the counter and gave the chef their orders. I then went over to the front door and changed the OPEN sign to CLOSED not wanting to stay here longer than necessary. I looked over at Jasper and his friends to make sure they didn't need anything before going behind the counter and pulling out a story I had been working on figuring I could write a few pages before their food was done. A couple of minutes later a hand appeared above my notebook. I looked up to see the big, burly guy standing in front of me with a large smile spread across his face.

"Hey," he said sitting on the bar stool across from me.

"Hi, did you need something?" I asked putting my pen down and standing up, getting ready to serve.

He smiled. "Naw, I just wanted to hang with you. You seem like more fun than my love-sick friends over there." He pointed at the two couples who were so engrossed with each other that it seemed like the outside world was irrelevant to them. "My name is Emmett, by the way."

I gave him a smile, "Bella."

"So says your nametag." He smirked, pointing at my chest where the black letters plainly stated 'BELLA.'

"Ha. Ha. You are _so_ funny," I said humorlessly giving him my best glare, which was extremely pathetic and it only made his smirk grow. Maybe he didn't know what Jasper did. He didn't act anything like Jasper and he seemed like a really sweet guy underneath all of that muscle. Jasper was dark, mysterious, and controlling. His dark aura scared me. Emmett was the complete opposite of him though; he was light, happy, and fun.

Emmett and I talked for a few minutes before I had to go get their food. I had learned a lot about him in those few short minutes. I found out that he was born and raised in good ol' New York and he planned on co-owning his father's business with his brother, Edward, who was the bronze haired guy sitting at the booth. He didn't tell me what his father's business was just that it was one of the businesses that made New York run. To say that I was amazed was an understatement. He also told me a little about his friends. The blonde girl, who is Edward's girlfriend, is named Rosalie. The other girl was named Alice (not Ally) and was dating his friend Jasper. Alice is his and Edward's cousin and just graduated high school. The way he talked about them led me to believe that they are a very close-knit group of people.

When the cook rang the bell I excused myself and went to get the food. Balancing the many plates on the tray I carefully brought it over to the group and gave them their respective plates. Alice and Emmett both smiled in thanks but the rest of them carried on with their conversation and pretended like I wasn't even there, not that I minded—I was used to rude customers.

I walked back to the kitchen, empty tray in hand, giving Jon, the cook, a smile as I returned my tray. Slowly I made my way out of the kitchen but stopped when I noticed Jasper standing directly in front of me, a large glare on his face.

"Oh," I said startled, "Did I forget something?"

His glare deepened and I noticed Edward and Rosalie also had glares on their faces. Emmett looked worried and Alice just looked shocked. "How are you today, _Marie_," he said, slowly walking closer towards me. "Or is it Bella?" A smirk mixed in to his glare.

_Play stupid._ "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

He gave me a humorless laugh. "Don't play stupid Bella." He grabbed my wrist and dragged me over to their booth, roughly pushing me in next to Emmett where he immediately grabbed a hold of my other wrist firmly. Emmett didn't hold on quite as tight as Jasper but the message was still clear: _don't run._

I closed my eyes and swallowed back my fears. Jasper sat down next to me, blocking me in. Edward was sitting across from me with Alice and Rosalie on either side of him. He gave me a hard glare and folded his hands in front of him resting them lightly on the table.

He spoke up, "Bella is it?"

I gave him a small nod knowing it would be suicidal to lie right now.

He nodded, his eyes softening ever so slightly. "My name is Edward. I need to ask you a few questions alright?" I nodded again. Edward leaned forward a bit, "I need to know if you have told anyone."

It was my turn to glare, "I'm scared, not stupid."

Jasper chuckled darkly, "You seem pretty stupid to me."

Emmett's hand tightened around my wrist until I visibly flinched, a small whimper escaping my lips. His hand instantly released its death grip on my wrist and I flexed my fingers trying to get some of the feeling back into them.

Edward glared at Emmett. "If we're going to kill her Em, it's gonna be quick and in private. I'm not fond of torturing young girls." He then looked at me and added, "Not that I won't."

Rosalie spoke up, her voice sharp and malicious, "What do you mean_ if_ Edward? She saw Jasper kill Sam! He should have killed her two weeks ago!" Her voice rose with every word so that by the end of her small rant she was practically yelling.

Edward looked thoroughly pissed off as he answered her. "_If,_ Rose, because I'm sure Jasper had a very good reason to keep her alive." He then looked at Jasper expectantly who shifted nervously in his seat. I too was curious as to why he kept me alive and I went to look at him also when a flash of gold caught my eye. A golden chain around Alice's neck which by itself was completely harmless but add to it the locket at the bottom and it became so much more. It's intricate, detailed design looked exactly like the one my brother gave to me when I was younger. My free hand unconsciously moved up to my neck as a distant memory overtook my thoughts.

_William was thirteen and I was ten. His dark brown hair was the same shade as mine as were his beautiful brown eyes. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand pulling me to our tree house._

"_Come on, Izzy," he said, skipping slightly as his eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation. "I have a present for you."_

_My ten-year-old self giggled and allowed Will to drag me up the ladder and into the tree house. "What's the present Willy?" I asked trying to find the present he said he had. _

_Will smiled, "You're my best friend Izzy, no matter what. We're gonna be together forever." _

_I gave him a hug, "Promise?"_

_He hugged me back and said, "I promise. I even got you a present to prove it." He pulled away to reach into his pocket, pulling out a small white box. _

_I gasped as I opened it. "Willy it's beautiful!" I said pulling the necklace out of the cloth it was resting in. It had the most intricate design adorning it's front, a mixture of swirls and sharp lines. _

"_It was Mom's. Dad said that he had it specially made just for her. There ain't another locket like it in the world." He gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, "Open it." His words were so soft and fragile._

_Carefully I opened the locket and read the inscription. _

Izzy—

Together forever

—Willy

_Those four words made me want to cry and at the time I did. His promise meant so much to me. When he died I threw the locket in the back of my closet so angry at him for leaving me when he promised that we'd be together forever. I was never able to find it again after that day. _

I was pulled out of my memory when I felt a hand rest lightly on mine. "You all right Bella? No one's planning on killing you yet, you haven't done anything wrong so far." Edward's voice broke through my thoughts and I forced my eyes back to his before nodding slightly. _Yet. _They haven't planned to kill me_ yet._

It didn't take more than a few seconds before my eyes fell back on the locket. I huffed, frustrated, "Where the hell did you get that locket?" Alice looked at me startled and Jasper growled at me squeezing my wrist tighter making me wince momentarily.

Anger immediately took over her features and she said, "I don't see how my necklace is relevant. And in any case it's a one of a kind; Jasper got it for me."

I glared at her, "I know it's a one of a kind. Open it. Does it say Izzy together forever Willy?"

Everyone gave me a shocked look. Jasper was the one who spoke up first, every word laced with anger, "How the fuck did you know what that locket said?"

I gave him a glare of my own. "Because its mine. Where did you get it?"

A look passed through his eyes and he gently put a hand under my chin pulling my face up to meet his. With his other he picked up a lock of my dyed ink black hair. "Izzy?"

My glare deepened. "A long time ago."

His eyes became sad and he let me go. I turned back to face Alice my expression slowly softening, "Please, it's the only thing of Will that I have left. I've already promised Jasper that I wouldn't tell anyone and I plan on keeping that promise. But I really miss my brother and I want a piece of him back." My glare had disappeared and I felt myself close to tears. Alice got up out of her booth and motioned for Rosalie and Jasper to get up as well.

They both did as instructed and she grabbed my wrist pulling me out of the booth as well. "I think we need to have a girl to girl chat. And that'll be a lot easier if we don't have three domineering men breathing down our necks." The guys looked ready to object but one look from Rosalie stopped them in their tracks. Alice led me across the restaurant to another booth. Where we all sat down: me in the corner, Alice next to me, and Rosalie across from me. "Before I even _think _about giving you this necklace I want to know how you are even alive."

I gave her a confused look, "What are you talking about?"

"Your full name is Isabella Marie Whitlock, correct?" I nodded. "Isabella is dead. So how are you alive?"

**AN: I cannot even begin to express how unbelievably sorry I am that it took this long to get this next chapter out. I was in the process of moving and my mother promised me internet last week and it didn't get set up until a couple of hours ago. I promise that I will NEVER make you wait this long for a chapter EVER again! My mother can be insufferable sometimes. **

**Well, I hope you liked it and forgive me for taking so long. Please leave me your opinion on my story by clicking that little review button below. It would be very much appreciated. **

**Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed. It totally made my day! **


	3. Chapter 2: Memories

(Bella is 16 present. Will/Jasper is 19)

**Chapter 2**

_Four years ago_

_It was raining. Hard. Large drops of water fell against the living room window as I stared intensely out into the downpour. I was twelve and William had just gotten his driver's permit. Our dad had promised earlier in the day that he would take Will out driving tonight and even when it began to down pour Willy still insisted on going out. _

_He was so stubborn like that… _

_They had left two hours ago and mom and I were waiting anxiously in the darkened living room, gazing out into the cloud-covered night sky looking for the familiar headlights to appear like twin beacons. _

_They never came. _

_An hour later mom got a phone call. She went into the kitchen. I could still see her from my place on the couch but words were just muffled background noise. Once and while I could pick out a word or two but nothing that made any since. Then all of a sudden she dropped. She fell onto the ground like all of the muscles in her body failed her simultaneously. _

"_Mom!" I yelled, racing toward the kitchen. _

_I plucked the phone from her iron grip and brought it up to my ear. "Hello? Hello? Ma'am? Mrs. Whitlock? Are you alright?" The voice was a young woman. Her words soft but panicked and I knew instantly something horrible had happened. _

"_Who is this? Who are you? What did you say to my mom?" Anger leaked into my voice tainting my words with venom. _

"_Are you Isabella Whitlock, Miss?" The lady's voice had calmed down immensely but that did nothing to ease any of the suffocating panic rising in my throat and blocking the air I was trying to take in._

"_Yes," I said my voice tense, "Who are you?"_

"_I am Jane Brown from the Amarillo police station. Two hours ago your father and brother were rushed to the emergency room. They were both treated but their injuries were too severe. I'm so sorry Miss Whitlock but your father and brother are dead."_

_Two weeks later_

_It was black. The sky. The clothes. The make-up. The aura. Everything was black. Even the two coffins in front of me were black. We had a closed casket funeral—their bodies were too mangled to have open. I never even got to see Will's body—though now that I think about it I probably would have become comatose if I had. When my mom had gone in to identify their bodies I had waited outside on one of the hard padded seats. And when she came out she was white as a ghost, never speaking a word about it. _

_The priest spoke but his words never reached my ears they were just muffled background noise to my screaming thoughts. I didn't care what he said because unless he could utter a spell that would bring my brother back I didn't want to listen. _

_My brother was gone. It hit me like a cold bucket of water. _

_Will was gone. _

_Dead. _

_My brother; my confidant; my scapegoat; my accomplice; my best friend; was dead._

_Fat tears began to fall down my face. First one and then another and another. Soon they came down my face like a water fall with no end in sight. My mom held onto my shoulders comfortingly tears also in her eyes that I knew she would never shed. She was strong; stronger than I could ever hope to be. _

_The priest stopped talking and everyone turned to leave. My mom's grip on my arm tightened and we also left the graveyard in silence. _

_That night I cried myself to sleep silently hoping for Will to knock on my door and give me a good night kiss like every night before. _

_It never came…_

_One year later (age 13)_

_School had just released for the summer and Angela and I were walking home. Ever since Mike Newton started following me everywhere she has refused to allow me to walk home alone. _

_When Will was alive he put enough fear into all of the boys to last a lifetime. Except for Mike. Even when Will was alive he still tried to find reasons to get me alone. It got worse after Will died. Using that as an excuse to hug me and cuddle me saying that everyone needed someone to lean on and that he should be my someone. I tried to turn him down but it was impossible, he was too persistent and I was too emotionally stretched to fight against him. _

_About six months ago however he began to get more physical in his advances. He would wrap his arm around my shoulders and yank me away from my friends. Mike snuck up on me one time and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on my lips and before I could react he was gone. What a coward. _

_Soon after he got frustrated. I had still not given in to his advances and my continuous rejection made him angry. He got real physical. Mike became abusive. It started with squeezing too tight to the point of leaving bruises. _

_Then it escalated more. Mike outright slapped me across the face one of the times I rejected him. He "accidentally" pushed me down the steps when I shoved his arms off my shoulders and once he slammed me into the solid pole on the corner._

_The worst, I think, was last month. When on my way home from school he snuck up behind me and pulled me into a nearby alleyway. Mike didn't get more than an hand on the skin of my stomach before I kicked him in the gut making him double over in pain and I was able to make my escape. When I confided in Angela about what he was doing to me she told me to tell somebody but I refused trying my hardest to explain to her that Mike was just confused and that if I rejected him enough he would leave me alone. That's when she started walking me home. Angela always made sure that someone was always with me no matter where I went or what I was doing. _

_Mike just didn't know when to stop._

_Angela had just dropped me off and I was standing outside of my door watch her go, waving slightly as she turned around to shoot me one more heart-warming smile before disappearing around the corner. I turned around also, fishing my keys our as I did so, and putting my key into the lock. As I opened the door I felt a heavy weight push on my back forcing me through my doorway and onto the floor. _

_A very familiar chuckle swept through my empty house chilling me to the core. _

_Mike. _

_He closed the door as I tried to get up off the floor, not getting more than a foot before Mike put his foot in the middle of my back forcing me back down on the ground. _

_I struggled, thrashing my arms and legs around wildly and uncontrollably, screaming as hard as I could. Sadly I knew no one could hear me, I lived on the outskirts of the city in the poorer section of town where people could hear screams every night. Even if they could hear me no one would come to my rescue._

_I was on my own._

_Mike flipped me over and sat on my stomach before I could bring my legs up in a knee to the balls maneuver. He quickly secured my hand above my head and smirked down at me. _

"_I've got you now don't I, Bella?" His voice was low and grated like he was trying to sound alluring and failed miserably. Mike licked his lips and descended upon my lips like he was in the desert and they were the only source of water for miles. As his lips came into contact with mine I opened my mouth slightly and then closed my teeth quickly around his tongue which had quickly found its way through my parted lips. He pulled back with a girlish scream and let go of my arms to hold his bleeding mouth. I took his momentary distraction to pull my fist forward into a forceful punch strait into his nose. _

_Mike fell backwards against the door and I got up, kicking him in the gut once I was standing. I pulled out my cell phone and called the police who quickly came and arrested the creep._

_A week later I found out Mike had been sentenced to five years in a Juvenile detention center and one thousand hours of community service. To say I was pleased to have him out of my life would be putting it lightly. _

_Two Years Later (age 15)_

_I got a call from Angela; Mike just got out of prison on good behavior. An hour later I hung up with her and checked the locks on my doors just in case he came here. I didn't think he would though; it's been two years if he still had any feelings for me it would be something akin to immense dislike or hatred. I seriously doubt he would ever bother me again._

_You know the saying about how you'll jinx yourself if you thought or spoke about something? Yeah. Totally true. _

_Mike showed up in front of my house; demanding to see me and refusing to leave until he did. He even went as far as climbing up the tree in front of my bedroom window and watching me as I slept. At that point I was so thankful for my late father's lack of carpentry skills because my windows refused to open keeping Mike on one side of the glass and me on the other. _

_Mike refused to let me be but thanks to his father's high standing in town he could not be convicted without having proof so I was stuck dealing with his shit which continually got worse. _

_I had my out. My mom was reading the paper that morning and she came across an obituary for Isabella Marie Whitlock. _

_Me. _

_A simple mistake had sent my entire future into an altered course. My mom, of course, wanted to immediately call up the newspaper and fix the problem but I stopped her and explained my situation with Mike. She was heartbroken to finally hear what was going on after the three plus years of torment I went through but understood my situation. So we thought up a plan. We bought a coffin and had a funeral for me while I stayed holed up in my room. Then we began to get me a new identity. I couldn't stay in Texas on the off chance I ever ran into someone who could recognize me. _

_We decided on New York. It was big enough that no one would think twice about another face in the crowd and it was dense enough that few people from my hometown would ever be brave enough to venture that far into uncharted territory. The chances of me running into someone from my old town were slim to none. _

_Once all of my documents were in order my mom drove me to the Dallas Airport where she gave me one last hug goodbye with a promise of keeping in contact. _

_When I boarded the plane I never thought that I would ever see anyone from my hometown again let alone my deceased brother._

**Hey. I know you all seriously hate me right now but I really want to say how sorry I am for the extremely long wait. I've changed houses twice and had my laptop crash since I last updated. I'm really sorry but I've got it all fixed and I should be updating rather regularly now. **

**Again: super sorry. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 3: Brother?

**Chapter 3**

It was silent.

Alice and Rosalie stared at me with wide eyes and fish mouths. If the situation had been less serious I probably would have laughed. It stayed quiet for a while before either of the girls spoke.

"That really happened?" Alice's voice was soft, timid, a complete one-eighty from the girl who had been strong and confident twenty minutes ago.

I nodded, willing myself not to speak for fear of it cracking from the surfaced memories I had tried so hard to suppress.

Rosalie snorted. "You ran away from a _boy_?" Her voice held a bitter edge to it. "He hadn't even done anything worthy of running away for."

I gritted my teeth and repressed the urge to rip her hair out. Calmly, I rebutted, "I ran away so he _couldn't_ do anything to me. Call it self-preservation if you will."

Surprisingly, that silenced her immediately. She looked down at the table top and brought her hands under the table.

Alice cleared her throat. "Where do you live now?"

I shifted my gaze over to the boys who seemed to be calmly drinking their sodas, ignoring us completely. Seemed. I caught their eyes flicker over to us enough to know that they were listening to our conversation across the empty restaurant.

Rosalie spoke up again, "Don't worry Bella, they aren't going to kill Jasper's little sister, not unless they want to unleash the God of War."

It took me a moment to realize she was talking about Jasper and then, "God of War?"

Edward spoke up from across the room, "Rosalie," his voice was short and with a hit of annoyance, "Why don't you girls come back over here and we can continue questioning Miss Whitlock together." It was more of a demand than a suggestion and there was a no-nonsense tone in his voice which immediately made Rosalie and Alice stand up.

I complied with their unspoken request and rose from my seat also, the three of us making our way across the restaurant again. Jasper immediately got out of the booth and gestured for me to get in between him and Emmett. I silently got in the booth Emmett's hand immediately finding my knee to give it a quick squeeze of reassurance.

Once everyone was seated again Edward spoke up, "Where are you living, Bella?"

I looked down once again, not out of fear but out of shame. Mother and I couldn't afford anything decent in New York because of being a single mother in a small town everything was cheap and she never made much money. My apartment was a single room—bed, bath, living, and kitchen quarters all in one convenient—very small—room.

Emmett let out a laugh, "We aren't gonna kill you Bella, Jazzy would have a fit."

Jasper growled, "I told you not to call me that."

"Drop it you two," Edward said, stopping Emmett from starting a pissing contest. "But they are right, Bella, you have no reason to fear us too much anymore." Too much—those words almost made me laugh but of course I don't think he meant it to be funny.

I looked down at the sticky table and mumbled and unintelligible answer.

"Come again?"

"Roster Avenue." My voice was still soft but Edward was able to understand enough.

He gave a disapproving glance at me before clearing his face of any emotions once again.

"Why would you live in a place like that?" Rosalie butted in, aggravating as ever. "Everything on Roster is complete trash; a little girl like you would never survive there long."

"It's all I could afford."

Jasper scoffed. "Well you're not living there anymore. No sister of mine is living in a place like that."

I looked at him bewildered. Sister? No one's called me that in years.

Will. Jasper was Will. I knew that he was but it wasn't connecting in my brain. Jasper was Will. Will was Jasper. They were one in the same. Jasper was my brother.

Oh god.

Jasper killed Sam. That means my _brother_ killed Sam. My brother is a murderer. My brother threatened my life. He would have killed me.

My own brother.

What has he gotten himself into? My brother would never do something as evil as killing another human being unless someone he loved was being threatened.

That isn't my brother. Jasper isn't my brother. My brother is dead. Will is dead. This man—no this _monster_—is just the shell of my brother, his soul long gone.

"Then it's settled. Bella will come to live with the Cullen's." Edward's voice broke through my train of thought.

"Wait, what?" I asked, alarmed. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't know you! I don't know any of you! Why would I live with you? _Especially_ after you _threatened _my _life_!" I slammed my hands on the table and tried to get out only to be blocked the large man on either side of me. "Move," I said keeping my voice low and temper under control. "I already told you that I wasn't going to say anything so you can let me go and trust my word on it because you already know where I live and work."

Their faces were frozen in shock and surprise. I guess not many people talked back to them. Jasper composed himself the quickest and put a gentle arm around my shoulders which I tried to shake off with no avail. "Izzy," his voice was soft, almost timid, as if he were speaking to a scared animal. "Please don't be like this. I'll be there too Iz; we'll be together again." His hand made soothing circles on my shoulder and I had to hold back a cringe that was threatening to break through my cold mask.

"Please remove your hand from my person." I said, my voice leaking an icy frostiness that even made me shiver slightly.

Jasper's hand fell away from my shoulder and he sighed deeply. "You are going one way or another, Isabella, I don't care if I have to drag you to the Cullen Estate myself."

I gave him my coldest glare. "I don't see the point—I already have a home—I don't need any of you."

Edward sighed, annoyed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Humor us." His voice was empty, void of emotion and I realized that, like before, I had no say in the matter.

I grunted before speaking resignedly, "Fine, but answer me this first—why do you want me?"

Jasper rolled his eyes and said, "Because you're family."

"Come again? It's funny, I could have sworn that you just said that we're family but I know for a fact that we're not. My only family is my mom back in Texas so why don't you tell me the real reason."

Rosalie gaped. "Does she have short-term memory loss or something?"

I laughed harshly. "I have no such thing; I'm just not stupid. My brother died years ago. This man, Jasper, is a monster—not my brother. In case you all have forgotten, I watched Jasper _kill _a man. My brother would never do that. Ever." I pushed hard against Emmett's bulky shoulder signaling I wanted to get out and after a quick nod from Edward he got up. I ignored his preferred hand and got out myself fixing my apron as I did so. "If you have no further questions I would like to be on my way; it's well past my shift and I am tired."

I focused my question to Edward who sighed and said, "If you must, I can relate. Just allow one of us to make sure you get home safely—there are a lot of bad people out there who wouldn't hesitate to hurt someone as pretty as you."

I sighed and nodded, relenting to his request knowing that I was getting far more freedom than a person in my situation would normally get.

Edward nodded, "Emmett?"

Emmett's face softened slightly and nodded his head once, containing his emotions. He offered me his arm and I went over to the counter and grabbed my stuff. I waited by the door for the gang to file out before I followed, locking the door behind me.

**AN: okay… That's it for today. Please tell me what you think in a review. (I wouldn't ask, but I recently lost my telepathy power so I don't know what you're thinking unless you write it down)**


	5. Chapter 4: Emmett

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. **

**PS: This chapter has swearing in it. Be warned…**

**Chapter 4**

For once the moon was visible. It's large glowing figure dimmed by the many streetlights and neon signs but still visible enough to see some of those large craters on its surface. We had been walking for about five minutes—Emmett and I—in complete silence. I'm sure he could feel the rage radiating off of me in waves and knew that locking his lips was the only option when considering his life was at stake.

Glorious night.

Fucking glorious.

Why couldn't he have just stayed dead? I was resigned to Will's fate; accepted it even. So why did he have to come back into my life and fuck everything up again?

It doesn't matter. Will is dead. This Jasper will not tarnish Will's memories within me. He can't—I won't let him. Jasper holds no rights to me, no privileges, no memories, and no history. He is nothing to me.

A stranger.

I don't care what anyone says he is not my brother.

"Bella," his voice was timid, cautious almost. He should be.

I looked over at him signaling that I would not chop off something important if he continued.

"Bella," he started again, "I'm sure that this I hard for you to grasp but I really want to know what is going through that pretty little head of yours right now," his large, happy grin slowly making its way back onto his face, "because you are much too pretty to have such an unattractive frown on your face."

I smiled slightly, "You sure? My thoughts are pretty sporadic at the moment and probably wouldn't make much sense to anyone but me."

He gave me another large smile, "Positive. Sometimes a person just needs to get their thoughts off of their chest."

"Okay… Well, I'm confused, and angry, and upset, and sad, and surprised, and unwillingly a little bit happy. And I have all of these emotions running through my head at a million miles an hour and I just can't get a firm grasp on one." I said this in one huge breath and then had to take in copious amounts of air to catch my breath.

Emmett nodded and brought a hand up to his chin stroking the invisible beard, "I see, I see. All very acceptable emotions for one to have when they find out their brother is actually alive."

A scowl presented itself to my face, "He's not my brother… That man, Jasper, he's not my brother. I know my brother and he would _never _kill a human being, _ever_. He was the epitome of a pacifist."

Emmett's face turned grim. "I guess that's understandable. If I were in your shoes I probably would have reacted much worse than you did." We turned silent and continued to walk on. After a few moments Emmett spoke up again, "So, what was your favorite class in school?"

I paused for a moment startled by his random question before continuing on like nothing happened, "English." I stated. "It was always my favorite because I could so easily get lost in the literature we were presently reading and just forget about reality for a little while. What about you?"

He chuckled, "Gym."

I laughed slightly along with him, happy for the welcomed distraction from my burning thoughts. The rest of our walk to my apartment continued in a similar fashion; he would ask a question and I'd answer it then I would do the same to him.

When we got to my apartment we stopped outside of the door. I saw Emmett give it a look of disdain but held his tongue.

_Smart bastard._

We said our goodbyes and he waited until I had shut the door to the building before turning around and walking back the way we came. As I opened the door to my one-roomed apartment and gazed around at the barren walls and scarce furniture I couldn't help but acquire an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

About a week has passed since my confrontation with Jasper and Co. and it's been relatively quite—except for the daily visits from Emmett. Surprisingly, even though I knew he did some type of evil it didn't make me nearly as cautious as it probably should have. Emmett has come in every day this week and ordered something off of the desert menu and always requested that I be his waitress. Stacy always gave me knowing glances when he did and immediately pulled me away from whatever I was doing to go and 'serve' him. That girl was too excited for me but it was nice to have someone other than myself to care about me.

It was getting to be about nine o'clock at night and Emmett hadn't shown up yet. I figured that he was busy with something else and couldn't show up, that, or he just didn't want to.

At exactly ten o'clock the bell on top of the entrance rang, signaling the arrival of a new customer.

"I'm sorry but we're closed," I said never taking my eyes off of the receipts in front of me. When I didn't hear the bell chime again I looked up only to see Emmett.

"Hey Bells," he said a slight grimace on his face. It was then I took in his appearance. His clothes were strewn haphazardly across his body, dirt and blood smudged his skin, and he was sporting a large black eye and a deep cut that was still bleeding. "You don't have any band-aids, do you?"

**AN: Yes, I know, criminally short but the next one will be longer, I promise. I can only update at school and the computer is being evil. I'm sorry for making you wait so long.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it. **


	6. Chapter 5: Blood and Rain

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. **

**Chapter 5**

_Jasper/Will POV (4 years ago):_

_I was so excited. I had just gotten my driver's permit and was ready to hit the road. Dad had promised to take me out later tonight and I was antsy to get learning. Izzy and I were presently in our tree house playing a game of cards and watching a bird make a nest in the rafters above our heads. _

_Izzy was beating me by a long shot so out of frustration I threw my cards down in the middle and stated, "This is stupid."_

"_You're just jealous because I'm better at cards than you." Iz said, sticking out her tongue childishly. _

_I crossed my arms and stuck out my bottom lip like a five year old. "Shut up," I grumbled. "Come on Iz, let's go back inside. I bet dad's ready to go!" My voice picked up at the end as I smiled happily at the thought. _

"_Fine, but I won."_

"_It was a tie."_

"_Was not!"_

"_Was too!"_

"_Was not!" _

_Our banter continued all the way to the kitchen where our mom promptly shut us up by shoving fresh baked cookies in our mouths. _

_Dad and I left an hour later after we said goodbye to mom and Izzy. It was rainy and dad tried to convince me to stay home but I out-right refused saying that if he could go out then so could I._

_With a heavy sigh he grabbed the car keys and we headed out to the car._

"_I'll drive us out to the back roads then you can give it a shot," Dad said, raising his voice so he could be heard over the heavy rain._

_I nodded my head and climbed into the car shaking the rain drops from my head as I went. _

_Fifteen minutes later found us parked on the side of an obscure back road with the wipers feebly trying to keep the water off of the old pick up truck's windshield to no avail. A large black SUV was a couple of meters ahead of us with its lights flashing and wipers on high. _

_I looked over at dad, confusion written across my face. _

"_Just wait in the car," he said unbuckling and opening the car door. "I just have to take care of something real quick." Dad got out of the car and walked over to the SUV, knocking on the window before getting in the back seat. _

_I looked at my watch for the third time in a minute. Dad had already been in the SUV for over fifteen minutes and I was starting to get worried. Nothing had changed on the outside and there wasn't enough light for me to be able to see the people inside of the car. _

_All of a sudden the backseat passenger door opened and a young man, no more than eighteen, stepped out of the car and walked toward mine. I watched curiously and apprehensively as he neared my door. _

_He tapped on the glass and when I refused to open the door or role down the window he wiped it best he could before pressing a piece of paper against it so I could read it. _

Jasper-

Allow this man to take you home.

I will answer any questions you have when I get home.

Be good,

-dad

_The handwriting was without a doubt my dad's so I sighed and nodded my head in defeat, unlocking the doors as I did so. The man ran around to the other side of the car and got in the driver's side pulling out dad's keys from his pocket._

_He had them the whole time. I was thankful he allowed me to open the door instead of just letting himself in. _

_The man started the car and the lights illuminated the car making me flinch from the sudden brightness that illuminated the once very dark car. When had it gotten so dark? How long had we been gone? _

"_Sorry about that William," the man spoke giving me a handsome smile that I'm sure had a plethora of girls fawning over. "I'm sure you were worried about your father but not to worry, my father will make sure he gets home all right. _

_I nodded slightly a million questions running through my head but none that could form into a comprehensive sentence. _

_He smiled once more before turning the car on and driving away, leaving my dad behind. He thrust a hand toward me. "My name's Edward by the way. Pleased to meet you."_

_Edward. How do you know my father?_

BPOV (Present)

"Oh my God! What happened?" I held a hand over my mouth in a girly fashion (totally not me).

Emmett laughed once before wincing and grabbing his side.

"Oh!" I said gently grabbing his arm and tugging him over to a chair behind the counter and pushing him into it. "What happened to you Emmett? You're all beat up?"

He gave me a crooked smile due to his busted lip. "It's kinda a long story…"

I sighed, pulling out the first aid kit and began bandaging him up to the best of my abilities. "So in other words you don't want to tell me."

He sighed and grabbed my chin forcing me to look at his face which I had been avoiding to the best of my abilities. It looked pained and saddened but also guilty. I was right.

I pulled my face out of his hands and continued patching him up. "You should really go to the hospital Emmett."

"I probably should." It was quiet, completely unlike his usually loud boisterous voice. Something was troubling him.

"Look you don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to, just know that I'll be here when you're ready." I finished his visible skin and started tugging on his shirt. Getting the message, Emmett pulled his shirt over his head and I felt myself blush lightly upon seeing his well toned abs and tan skin.

He cleared his throat, "Thank you for doing this by the way, Bells."

I rolled my eyes, "You were hurt. I wasn't going to send you away."

He chuckled, "Maybe not, but thank you all the same."

"You're welcome." All of a sudden the bell over the door rang again. "Damn it. I really need to lock that thing."

I looked up ready to tell the person at the door that we were closed and that they have to leave but the words caught in my throat when I saw who it was.

Jasper.

Looking in just as bad of shape as Emmett.

**AN: yeah. I know, it wasn't that much longer than the previous chapter but I'm better at writing like James Patterson—many short chapters. I'll try to make them longer in the future but no promises. **

**Every time I read a review it makes me write faster. **


	7. Chapter 6: Mobsters

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 6: **

BPOV:

I stood in shock, "Jasper?"

His lips formed a thin line and nodded grimly. "Sorry to ask this of you but do you think you can patch me up too?" His voice was thick and gravely like he had just been yelling for hours on end and was in desperate need of a glass of water. Jasper's dark shirt did nothing to hide the fact that he was covered in blood and dirt.

I nodded my head slightly signaling I heard him and pulled another chair over to where I was patching Emmett up and Jasper graciously sat down, wincing as he did so. I turned back to Emmett and finished disinfecting the wound on his chest. It was large, deep, and bleeding profusely. It took a few minutes before I was able to get a bandage on and when I finally did I sighed in relief.

I turned to Jasper, "Your turn." I saw that most of his injuries were coming from underneath his dark blue t-shirt so I grabbed a hold of the hem and pulled it up. He resisted at first before he realized what I was doing and allowed me to pull the shirt over his head. I had to hold back the gasp threatening to escape from my mouth. His torso was covered in cuts, shallow and deep, and looked extremely painful. "What the hell happened to you two?"

Jasper sighed, "It's a long story."

"We have a lot of time."

He groaned slightly. "I didn't want to get you involved in this shit Iz."

"Too little too late brother dearest—start talking." I pulled out fresh bandages and cleaning alcohol and began.

He sighed then hissed lightly when I poured alcohol on one of the more serious cuts. "We got into a fight with a rival gang."

"You're part of a gang?" I kept my voice light and easy but even I could sense the underlying panic that seeped through my façade.

"Well," He made a face, as if contemplating how he was going to word his next sentence. "We aren't so much of as _part_ of a gang as we _run_ the gang."

I paused, my hands half way to his chest with a roll of tape. "Come again?" I choked out.

"We are the next generation of the Italian Mob. Our fathers are the true heads right now but in a couple of years it will be ours."

"Yours and Emmett's?" I asked sounding much calmer than I truly was.

"And Edward's. Lately this rival gang has been giving our men some trouble so Em and I went out to sort out their problems for them," Beat them to a bloody pulp no doubt, "But we were ambushed when we got there. Barely made it out alive."

"Barely?" Emmett scoffed, "I don't know about you but I thought we left them in a much worse state."

I rolled my eyes. "You two are insane."

They looked at me incredulously; they were seemingly frozen by my words. Emmett thawed enough to talk first. "You find out that we are part of the Italian mob and just took on over twenty guys—beating their asses—and all you have to say is that you think we're _insane_?"

I nod my head simply. "Yup. That pretty much sums up my view on your activities.

Emmett rolled his eyes and lightly placed an arm over my shoulders in a one armed hug. "You, Bells, are fucking amazing."

I smiled. "Yes I am, now get off of me so I can finish patching up Jasper.

I was driving. Emmett and Jasper were in no condition to be driving so I offered to driving them to their house (luckily they lived in the same place). I was starting to regret offering because we were already a twenty minute drive from my apartment apparently we were going to the other side of the city. It would take me days to get back to my apartment.

I almost drove the car off of the road when Jasper pointed to my left telling me that was where I was turning. It was a driveway to a fucking mansion.

The place was huge easily a city block wide and extravagant with many large windows.

Jasper spoke up as we made our way up the long-assed driveway to their palace. "Esme, Em and Edward's mother, designed the house. It's a little excessive but still nice."

Jasper directed me to the back of the house where a large multi-car garage was. I parked the car, an expensive silver one, next to a flashy red convertible.

Emmett got out of the car and had opened my door for me before I even got my seatbelt off.

He gave me one of his heart melting smiles and held out his hand for me. I smiled back at him and took a hold of the preferred hand.

Once I was out of the car he put an arm around my waist and led me over to a side door. Before we could reach it however it was yanked open and a small black blur flew through and pounced on Jasper. "I'm so glad you're okay!" It said breathlessly. I knew that voice, it was Alice. Did they all live in this mansion? It was most defiantly big enough.

"I'm sorry for worrying you Ally." His voice was soft and sweet, just like Will's. "But I promise I'm okay."

She pulled back and slapped his arm hard making him wince. "You better not do that again Jazzy. You had me worried sick!"

He smiled and gave her a chaste kiss before pulling back and wrapping an arm over her shoulders and leading her inside. "Come on Bella, there are some people you need to meet."

Emmett's grip on my waist tightened fractionally as he began to lead me through the large house. We had been walking for about five minutes before we stopped in front of a pair of large, dark, wooden doors. Jasper and Alice walked through first leaving Emmett and I in the hallway. I gave him a curious glance but he just shook his head and opened the door pulling me gently through.

The room was filled with people most of whom I didn't know but I did see a few recognizable faces—Edward and Rosalie standing off to one side behind a kindly looking blonde man, Jasper and Alice taking their place on the other side of the room next to a man who made my blood run cold.

There standing before me was a tall man with short brown hair and dark eyes. His face was hard and unwavering but an underlying softness shone in his eyes.

I knew this man to be dead so what is he doing here now?

My voice broke as I spoke up, "D-Dad?"

**AN: I'm mean.**

**Please review.**


	8. Chapter 7: That night

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 7**

_JPOV_

_3 weeks ago (The night the story began)_

_Sam was an underling of mine and was getting me into a shit load of trouble as of late. Shipments had been going out but he gave me much less than what I knew he was actually making. I've gotten sick of his slacking so tonight I was to get rid of the stupid idiot who thought he could fool me. _

_I had just dragged the worm into an ally and pushed him up against the wall. The fear in his eyes was hilarious and I felt the need to laugh, but I didn't. Instead, I pulled the gun I always carry on me and pressed it against the side of his skull._

_"I told you to have the money by Friday," I said, growling slightly._

_I pulled the gun I always carry on me and pressed it against the side of his skull__ making him whimper. "I know Jasper, but if you could just give me a little more ti—" _

_I dug the gun into the Sam's skull. "I'm through giving you more time Samuel."_

_He whimpered. "Please Jasper, I have kids—two of them. They need me."_

_I laughed, unable to hold it back any longer. "You really think I care about your kids? You should have thought about them before you decided not to pay me back." In all honesty I had met his kids before and I couldn't care what happened to those loud, obnoxious brats. Sam whimpered again when I pressed the gun further into his head. "Say your prayers you filthy animal."_

_I pulled the trigger letting off a humongous bang and forcing my hand to fly back slightly. A small scream broke through my silent thoughts and I whipped my head over to the mouth of the alley where I young girl stood, frozen in fear. _

_I stalked towards her thinking, _fuck._ I didn't want to kill this little girl. She only seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen—maybe younger. Her hair was long and dark and she had tears glistening in her eyes. Sam didn't deserve her pity._

"_Hey kid. How much of that did you see?" I yelled over to her. My voice seemed to shake her out of her shock induced haze and her feet began to move backwards towards the street filled with people. I looked down at her feet and back up to her face. "Don't even think about leaving until we've had a nice little chat, 'kay?" She froze and for a moment I felt bad for the kid. She cautiously nodded her head keeping her eyes unconsciously on the gun in my hand. "Smart girl. Now why don't you come back here and we can talk like the mature adults we both are okay?" Mature? Without a doubt. Adult? Not likely._

_She slowly began to make her way further into the alley taking small hesitant steps towards me like any quick movement would set me off. Then again, considering what I just did she probably wasn't too far off the mark._

"_Good girl," I said once she was close enough for me to grab one of her wrists and yank her further into the cover of dark. "How 'bout you tell me your name sweet-cheeks." I really needed to spend less time with Demetri and Felix—they were really rubbing off on me. _

_The girl took a deep breath and stuttered, "M-M-Marie."_

_I knew she used a fake name but I figured I could scare her enough for her to never speak again. "Marie, 'ay? Well _Marie_, I don't think you saw anything tonight, do you?" I raised my gun and rested it lightly against the side of her head. "Because if you did, well, the end result wouldn't be pretty. Understand?" I dug the gun a little harder in to her skull making her bite her lip._

_She nodded her head and said quietly, "I didn't see anything."_

_I laughed lightly. "Good girl, you learn fast. If I didn't already have a girl I would take you easy." And the fact that you too closely resemble my own sister to kill without thinking I killed the real thing. I lowered my gun, returning it under my shirt and patted her on the head; making sure she knew I wasn't going to kill her tonight if she behaved. "And if I do get caught for what didn't happen here tonight I'll know who to blame."_

_My threat was clear and she seemed to understand her situation as she nodded her head again. I patted her wrist one more time before I let it go and exiting the alley, returning to the naïve city beyond the darkness of the alleyway._

BPOV (Present Day)

The room seemed to drop twenty degrees with my exclamation. The man gave me an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his head like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey Izzy," He sounded embarrassed.

My eyes widened. "Dad?" I took a tentative step forward, and then another, and another until I was almost sprinting towards him. I paused right before reaching him though and instead of giving him a hug, like he most likely thought I would, I slapped him. Hard.

My slap seemed to resonate throughout the room for centuries. Dad looked shocked, as did everybody else. They seemed to be holding their breaths wait for something. Slowly the shocked expression slipped from his face and he gave me a sad look.

"I guess I deserved that."

I glared at him, refusing to say anything. Everyone seemed to take a collective sigh of relief at Dad's statement.

Emmett came up behind me and gave my dad a small bow out of respect. "Mr. Hale."

Dad nodded his head in recognition before turning his eyes back to me. He gave me a small, sad smile and put his hand on my shoulder. "You weren't supposed to get caught up in this life Izzy. Why aren't you in back in Texas?"

I scoffed and looked away, yanking my shoulder out of his grasp as I did so. "It's your fault."

Jasper looked surprised, "How so?"

I turned my icy glare to him, narrowing my eyes into slits, "Mike Newton."

**Hey, I know that this is short but I've been real sick this past week and this is all I could do while playing catch-up in school. **

**Please review and tell me what you think about it. **


	9. Chapter 8: My Dead Brother

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 8**

I heard Jasper's voice catch. "W-What are you talking about?"

My glare deepened, "What do you think I'm talking about? Mike and his disgusting body is what I'm talking about."

I could feel my temper rising and tried in vain to get it under control. Was Jasper really that vain in thinking that the mere memory of Will would keep Mike away?

"When? How? What did he do?"

I glared, wanting to ask, 'Why should I tell you?' but said instead, "Why do you want to know?"

He huffed, "Because I'm your brother damn it! And I need to know these kinds of things!"

I laughed bitterly, "Not according to the grave stone back in Texas."

He froze before looking down, tears in the corners of his eyes.

Dad spoke up, "Everybody out. I want a moment alone with my children." His voice was firm and cold making me shiver as an invisible wind blew through the room.

Everyone filed out through the double doors, Alice pausing a moment to give Jasper's hand a tight squeeze before dashing out the doors.

Silence settled in the room; no one willing to break the awkwardness that draped over us like heavy fog. Dad had a frown on his face; looking at me disappointedly like I was five and he just caught me squeezing all of the shampoo out of the bottles. Jasper had a look that crossed between a livid scowl and heartbreaking misery.

"Isabella," Dad's voice cut through the silence like a sharp knife making me wince slightly. His tone was reprimanding when he spoke again, "Why would you doubt that Jasper's your brother when he is standing right in front of you? What would cause you to say such thing; especially in front of the Cullens?"

Now I was pissed. "First off my brother's name was Will, not Jasper. Second, my brother is dead; Jasper is just an evil soul occupying Will's body. My brother would never kill. And my father would never pretend to be dead and then think that he still had any say in what I thought. I don't know who you people are but you are most defiantly not related to me."

_(Nine years ago; Bella—7. Will—10)_

_JPOV_

"_Willy!"_

_Her voice broke through my quietude in the tree house. Dad had just finished building it the weekend before and I was spending the last of the summer rays in my domain before school began again Monday. _

_I sighed in resignation, "I'm up here Iz!" I yelled leaning over slightly. I heard her quick footsteps as she made her way across the yard to the old oak tree. She quickly made her way up the tree and over to where I was sitting before promptly curling up on my lap, wrapping her little arms around my neck and burrowing her face in my chest. _

"_Daddy and Mommy are fighting again Willy," Her voice was soft and timid—scared. "Make them stop, Willy. I want them to stop." I felt something wet seep through my t-shirt. She was crying. I wanted to yell at Dad. Tell him to stop picking fights. To stop leaving in the middle of the night and be gone for days at a time. I wanted him to stop hurting Izzy._

_To stop hurting me. _

_I hugged her tight and whispered in her ear, "I can't, Izzy. I want them to stop too but I can't. I'm sorry. So sorry, Iz." _

_We spent our evening like that—her body curled in my arms, sniffling once in a while as her emotions got the better of her. As the sun went down we begrudgingly made our way back into the now quiet house and I brought her to her room and tucked her in before heading to my room. As I made my way to my door I caught my dad's sad expression out of the corner of my eye and gave him a small glare. _

_Later that night I was awoken up to a soft whisper of my name from a petite voice at the end of my bed. "Willy?" Izzy's voice was soft and timid, like I would the ground would jump up and swallow her whole if she spoke too loudly. "Willy? Can I sleep with you, Willy? My room is too cold." _

_Her voice was thick and heavy with sleep but I understood what she was trying to tell me—Mom and Dad's fight made her scared for her future. My only response was to lift up the blanket and move over a bit so she could crawl in. _

_Many people didn't know this because of her tough exterior but Izzy was fragile. The slightest interruption in her life caused serious uproar within her. Only I knew the extent of what she went through every day because I was the only one she could trust. We both knew that if we were to tell Mom or Dad they would use it against each other in their next argument. _

_The next morning I was awoken to a flash of light and a click. When I opened my eyes I saw Mom and Dad standing together in my doorway with soft smiles on their faces. It always baffled my how bipolar their relationship was; one night they were at each other's throats and by the next morning they act as if they never had any issues at all. _

_Dad had left again. He always left for weeks at a time with no warning and no notice of when he would be back. It always hurt me when he left but it always seemed to hurt my fragile Izzy more. _

_We were currently sitting on top of the roof two days after Dad disappeared. She was sniffling quietly, leaving a large wet patch where she laid her head. _

"_Willy?" Her quiet voice broke the constant whimpers emanating from her lips. "You won't ever leave me like Daddy does will you, Will?"_

_I gazed sadly down at her, "I would never do that to you Iz. The only way you will ever get rid of me is in death." _

_She seemed satisfied with that answer and hugged my knee as she quieted in to silent sighs every once in a while as she gazed out at the setting sun._

_Night had set and we were just staring blankly at the starry sky. A flash of light streamed across the sky and I quickly tapped Iz's shoulders and pointed up at the sky. She gasped and her eyes grew wide. _

"_Pretty," she murmured. Once the star fell out of view she turned to me with a serious expression on her face. "How do you do it Willy? How do you see those little things like that?" _

_I smiled down her and gently placed a finger on her temple."You've gotta keep your eyes wide open Iz. Never close them for longer than necessary and you'll always be amazed at what you see." _

_I knew she didn't get it now but one day she would reflect on her childhood and I knew she would remember this moment and understand the meaning behind my words. _

**AN: Okay. Another chapter! Yay! Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought because I love knowing what you think about my writing. **


	10. Chapter 9: Explinations

**Disclaimer: I do not own it. **

**Chapter 9**

BPOV

After my exclamation Jasper and Dad—No. Mr. Hale—froze. Again.

Really. You would think that they never heard someone backtalk them before.

"W-Why would you say that we aren't your family? I know we've deceived you but it's obvious who we really are, I didn't even dye my hair!" His voice stuttered, something, I guessed, was very uncommon for him.

I laughed sharply, "Well, excluding the fact that my father is DEAD, my dad's last name was Whitlock, not Hale. Though I can't say I wouldn't put it past him to fake his death to get away from us kids."

He walked up to me and pulled me in to a firm hug, pressing my cheek against his broad chest. I tensed, keeping my hands against my sides.

"I'm so sorry Isabella," He whispered. "I never knew you would feel this way. I'm so sorry for hurting you. Please honey, please forgive me."

_Some years ago_

"_I'm home!" Dad's voice broke through homework time and Jasper and I immediately ran to the front door where we knew dad would be with a suitcase and open, waiting arms. _

_We jump heavily into him, almost knocking him onto his back, as we hugged him like he was going to disappear. Which often happened. _

_Dad had been gone for almost a month this time and I was so happy to have him back. I pulled back and looked him over before squealing and pulling him into a tighter embrace. _

"_I missed you daddy," I said, my childish voice breaking as I nuzzled my face into his beard. "Why do you always have to leave? You made Mr. Cuddles cry." _

_Daddy sighed and pulled me tighter. "I'm so sorry Izzy," He whispered into my hair. "I never knew you felt that way. I'm so sorry for hurting you. Please honey, please forgive me."_

_I pulled away slightly, "That's what you said last time daddy."_

"_I know but this time I truly see how much I hurt you. I promise I'll never do it again." I smiled satisfied with his answer and hugged him close again. _

Present

"That's what you said last time." I could hear the sadness laced with ice in my voice.

"When did I ever say something like that?" He was confused, cocking his head slightly to the side.

Jasper snorted. "How about every time you got back from one of your 'trips?' You always pulled this kind of bullshit with us dad. This ain't anythin' new."

Southern drawl leaked into his voice making me smile slightly. It really suited him; that low, lazy drawl that everyone around Texas naturally acquired.

His face grew angry, "That was completely different and you know it Jasper. I was protecting you."

"Mighty fine job you did there Pa'," I said my accent now leaking through the cracks. "Ya' left me and mom to fend for ourselves. I almost got _raped_ because you decided to leave and go live the fast life."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I was born into this life Iz, you and Jasper both." I cocked my head to the side but kept silent wanting to hear what he had to say. "I was legally born as Charlie William Hale, we used to live here in New York until a year before you were born. When Renee found out she was pregnant with you she wanted out—but leaving the mafia ain't that easy. I was just planning on resigning and leaving the company to my brother but a week before we were to leave he was shot. I knew they were going to come after me and my family next so we changed our plans and fled, leaving the business to Carlisle Cullen, my close friend, until I was able to return. When it was safe again your mom didn't want to go back to that life and she didn't want to drag you into the life that she so desperately tried to leave. So we faked our deaths, Jasper and I, he had been too young to remember his life here but people knew he existed, and he is the next leader should he choose so.

"So he and I moved back here after some careful deliberation on Carlisle's and my parts. You were never supposed to know about this life Izzy. We tried so hard to keep you away from all of this mayhem only for you to fall right into our laps. I'm afraid to say that now that you know you are a part of it. You won't be able to go back to blissful ignorance again, kid. You are one of us now." He looked sad, like any hope in him just vanished with his words.

We stood in silence for a while before I was able to find my voice again. "Isn't Jasper's name actually Will then? Why do you keep calling him Jasper?"

Jasper spoke up this time, "I was legally born as Jasper William Hale but when we ran Mom and Dad started calling me William so we had less of a connection if anyone were to track us to Texas." His eyes turned unbelievably sad, "Bells, please believe me. I never meant to hurt you, if I could have I would have taken you with me but I didn't have a choice and I didn't want to drag you down to hell with me. Ya' gotta believe me, sis. I've missed you so much, please, _please_ don't shut me out any longer—I don't know how much longer I can take this silent treatment. You are my world, Izzy; I can't exist without knowing that you're safe." Jasper closed his eyes trying to block the tears from coming out but one lone tear slipped out of the corner of his eye and made its way down his cheek leaving a wet trail in its wake.

My heart broke, this wasn't the face of a killer—this was my brother. Nothing could deny that fact in this moment. He looked so much like he did it was impossible to state differently. I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Slowly, I brought my feet to rest in front of him and wrapped my arms around his tall frame.

Oh how I missed these arms. They were so strong, firm—just like I remembered them. This was Willy, he could change everything about him but once he was in my arms like this there was no doubt in my mind that this man was my brother.

All of a sudden it didn't matter that he had killed a man, it didn't matter that he pretended to die, it didn't matter that he left me alone. All of a sudden, he was my brother again and nothing else mattered.

Hesitantly he wrapped his arms around my waist and gently rested his head on top of my own. I could feel his shoulders shaking and small drops of water landed delicately on my neck. "Izzy…?" His voice faded off too afraid to ask what I knew he wanted to know.

"I don't forgive you Will," I started, clutching tighter to his chest, not allowing him to back away. "What you did—the pain you put me through—I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive you for that—but I will try. Despite everything I've said, you are my brother and nothing will ever be able to change that. I'm glad you're alive… Jasper."

His quiet tears turned to sobs and he clutched me tighter, almost cutting off my circulation. I didn't say anything though, knowing he needed this as much as I did. When he finally pulled away he was smiling and his tears were gone; all transferred to my shoulder.

"I don't care how long it takes, Bells, I will prove myself worthy of being forgiven, even if it's the last thing I do. I love you Bella, thank you so much." He gave me another life threatening hug before pulling away.

We looked over to Dad who had a goofy smile on his face. He opened his arms, "Do I get s hug too?"

I smirked wickedly, "Jasper got three weeks of Bella Torture, I think its only fare I put you through the same treatment. You're still in the dog house, Pops."

Jasper laughed and pulled me into a one armed hug and lead me over to the double doors. "Come on, Sis. Let's go see what everyone's up too. And I want to formally introduce you to my girlfriend."

**AN: okay! Another chapter done! Woo! (Yeah, I'm in a good mood) **

**Happy turkey day everyone! **

**Please read and review—if you don't I'll think that you don't like this story and I'll quit.**


	11. AN

**Hey guys. **

**I know you guys were really hoping for a chapter but I have some terrible news. **

**Over the weekend my laptop tried to commit suicide through infecting itself with a deadly virus. I brought it to the hospital and now it's in a coma. The doctor said he didn't know when it will wake up (if ever). Unfortunately, I did not have my newest chapter saved anywhere else besides my suicidal laptop. It could be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks before my computer recovers. **

**I'm really sorry for my computer's lack of self-worth and the obvious sadness this Author's Note has probably caused many of you. **

**I, BBQkitten, promise that I will update as soon as I possibly can but I don't even have another computer where I can try to rewrite the chapter (This is my friend's computer) and I promise that I will reward all of my faithful readers a nice long chapter once my laptop has gone through some intense therapy. **

**Once again, I'm terribly for this not being a chapter and I hope that you all will bare with me for a while.**

**BBQkitten.**


	12. Chapter 10: The Tower

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

**Chapter 10**

I was standing on a high tower. Looking ahead of me was New York—the glitz and glam, the shimmering lights, the vast unknown just waiting to be discovered. The dead bodies left to rot in alley ways. Emmett. My brother. When I look back I see my hometown in Texas; so small you could miss it if you blinked, only one stoplight and the whole school district fit in one building. I saw my mother in Texas, her smiling face bringing a ray of sunshine onto my childhood house. Angela. My dad. Will. Mike Newton. To each side of me, however, was black nothingness. It was something I could make anything I wanted to out of it. I could mold this nothingness into whatever I wanted.

I had to make a choice. I needed to choose whether to jump forward into New York, backwards into Texas, or I had to jump into the nothingness and create my own future. Whatever choice I made was final. There was no spiral staircase up to the top of the tower and try again. There was no way for me to go in another direction once I started falling therefore I had to forget all about the other choice once my feet left this tower. Everything here was absolute—no turning back for anything. I couldn't stay here either; this tower was weak. It was slowly crumbling beneath my feet—breaking away with my emotions. The bricks of this tower were created with my thoughts and every time I felt an emotion they invaded my thoughts bit by bit. If I didn't make a choice with my thoughts soon my emotions would take over and I would fall straight down. Down into nothingness that was completely unlike the nothingness to my sides. The darkness to the side had future, hope, a promise for _something_. The nothingness below my tower was exactly that—nothing. If my emotions were to take over I would fall into the black abyss below my feet and be lost to reason forever controlled by the emotions my heart believes to always be right.

The tower cracks more making me stumble slightly. My time to decide was coming to an end. Emotions and reason were fighting for dominance within my soul.

I glace back at Texas again. I see my brother, Willy. He was more than brother; he had been my best friend. When he died, my emotions took over my tower—only temporarily. We had been so happy—so close. But when he died it was like all of the happiness was sucked out of me and replaced with absolute sadness and despair. My emotions had taken over and I became a shell of the girl I used to be. Slowly, I gained control again and started living once more. It was painful, more than anyone who hadn't felt this type of loss could ever imagine but I did it. In the beginning I didn't come back for myself but rather for my mother. In an instant she lost her husband and eldest child. She had been broken and needed someone to piece her back together. I had to be her rock; if I couldn't be strong then we both would have fallen to pieces. My mother's smile died with Will and Dad, so did the spark of life in her eyes. But after a while she started to smile again; it wasn't the same as it once was but it was better than nothing in my child-eyes. Angela helped me gain control of my tower once again—allowing me to lean on her and use her as my crutch much like I was doing for my mother. When I became whole again my thoughts took over and my rampant emotions fell to the back burner of life. Then Mike sprung up, quite literally, into a part of my life that I had no desire for. He made my tower crumble once more but this time I had no one to lean on except for myself. I had to leave Texas. I had to leave before my emotions could gain any more ground and I passed the point of no return. As I look back I can see his sly smirk. I can see the hungry look in his eyes and the way he licks his lips as he takes in my body. I can still feel Mike's dirty hands on skin as I tried to push him away from me.

I take a deep, calming breath and look forwards once again. Jasper is there, in the heart of New York, just standing there staring at me with a small smile on his face. I can see his blonde hair and blue eyes practically glow in the neon lights of the city. It's not just Jasper, Emmett is there too, and the rest of the Cullens. They all seem so happy, like something from a Hallmark movie. It was unreal. Emmett stood there, a large grin on his face, beckoning me to come to him with his large, gentle hands. He said something but I couldn't hear. Everything was just a muffled static—too unrecognizable to make out any distinctive words. I couldn't help but sigh; my emotions weren't going to make this easy on me. It takes me a few moments before I register another in New York. Samuel. He's lying there, motionless, in a dark alley, almost completely hidden in darkness. His white button-up shirt is stained red with his blood and his face is frozen forever in a mask of pain. I look back at Jasper and see a gun in his hand and blood splattered on the front of his t-shirt. This man, Jasper, was a murderer. He could kill in cold blood without hesitating. But then again, so could Mike… if he wanted to.

I took a hesitant step back and almost lost my footing. Carefully I looked to my left, out into the vast emptiness. It was completely mine for the taking. Should I choose the darkness I would be able to completely rewrite my future with all new characters. No Mom or Dad. No Jasper, no Emmett, no Cullens. No Mikes and no Samuels. I would become a completely new person without anything to hold me back from taking what I wanted. Should I choose that path I would leave New York and move elsewhere—somewhere where no one would ever find me again—I could forget the past and start over with nothing but my thoughts. The darkness called to me, enticing me to come closer to the edge to take a leap of faith and go for the unknown.

I needed to make a choice. The tower was very close to crumbling to dust beneath my feet. I had to pick a direction. Did I go back in time; back with my mother, brother, and Angela? Did I take a step into the glamorous, and most likely dangerous, life in New York with the Cullens and Jasper? Or should I run to the side and fall into the nothingness and just start over and forget everyone? I had to act quickly or my emotions would make the decision for me.

I nodded my head—decision made. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and jumped.

**AN: Alright. I know that this isn't terribly long but I wanted to get something out there. **

**My computer is still severely suicidal and won't accept any help that is given to it. –sigh- **

**I wrote this chapter on my school computer but I'm not supposed to be on sites like FF so I can't guarantee regular updates anytime soon. Next semester is going to be hell which is going to slow down updates soon but I will try to post another chapter as soon as I can.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Thanks. **


	13. Goodbye and I'm sorry

**Alright. I know that I am going to get so many flames for this but I decided that this needed to be said. I'm done. I won't write anymore for this story. I've lost all inspiration for it (I've tried to write the next chapter over ten times and I just can't get it to sound good enough to post. **

**One day, I **_**might**_** update again but I wouldn't hold my breath for it if I were you. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just being honest and I don't want to string you guys along anymore. I feel terrible about doing this to all of my faithful readers. You all have been so wonderful and I am thankful for each and every review I received. **

**If I ever come back to this story I will make sure it is the best chapter you have ever read but unless that day ever comes this will be the last chapter for Eyes Wide Open. **

**I'm sorry to everyone, thank you for all your wonderful reviews.**

**BBQkitten**


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